National Wage Agreement

The collapse of the National Wage Agreement was inevitable. On the one hand it did not suit the interests of the employers, the Federated Union of Employers thought that the terms of the agreement were too favourable to the workers and the Confederation of Irish Industry went further and demanded a complete wage freeze instead of a national agreement. On the other hand the con-trick of the June 1975 “mini-budget” in which workers dropped phase two and three of the 4th NNA in return for so-called price cuts has made them much less agreeable to making concessions in “the national interest’’.

The question now is: what will happen next. It is extremely unlikely that the employers will offer much more than they already have. So even if the Employer-Labour Conference resumes it is unlikely to yield an acceptable settlement. Im the past of course the Unions have rejected draft agreements and have sent the leaders back to get more. Returning with a few extra crumbs which they portrayed as major gains, these leaders have eventually been push-through wage agreements. But this is unlikely to happen in this particular instance, Not only is the rank and file against the current agreement but also a sizable section of the middle and upper jayers trade union officials and representatives who see their negotiating powers being whittled away. If there are no genuine gains produced by a new sitting of the Employer-Labour Conference this group will have a powerful voice in getting the whole thing rejected.

One avenue open to the Employers and government is to allow a “free for all” and to use harsh budgetary measures to soak up the gains made by the workers. This however could only be a stopgap measure, The real problem is not just woge increases but also falling profits. The budget is an inefficient and costly way of redistributing wealth from wages to profits. The only effective way of Up “til now the Government and some sectors of the amployers have vassilated on the question of 8 wage freeze, Given the resistance of the workers any wage freeze will have to be statutory, The Labour Ministers have been hesitant about this. However Cruisers statements at the end of June show thet a new formula has been worked out which satisfies Labour — a wage freeze coupled with State Increasingly the strategy for the salvation of Irish capitalism is becoming centralised around the demand for a wage freeze and state intervention, But this is not a very strong slogan. The Government hes already overstretched itself in terms of public expenditure and is burcened with an enormous Problem of deficit and borrowing. So there can be no hope of any significant state involvement in The weakness is the Achilles heel of Irish capitalism against which the blows of the Unions should be aimed. Coupled with a major offensive on the wages front the Unions must formulate and push (a) eliminating private control of the key sectors of the economy so that real planning can be introduced, and (b) devolving control to the shop floor so that bureaueratic impediments to efficient Such a plan would be a significant part of the workers reply to the employers and Government's strategy. Above all it would cut the ground from under the feet of the Labour Ministers, depriving them of any arguments for a wage freeze. This in turn would provide the basis for a Union offensive against the Labour Party leadership for the control of the Labour Party. Already this year, at the {T & GWU's Annual Conference, there has been a strong call for greater control by the Unions over Finally, it should be noted that a “free for all" is more in the interests of the employers than the workers, (A “free for all should not be confused with “free collective bargaining”. A “Free for all” is only one form, and a particularly weak and effective one at that, of collective bargaining). What trade unionists should demand is that Congress takes up the claims being made by the building workers: busmen, bank officials, etc., and fight for them for all workers, The centralised strength ot include; Socialist Republic costs 10p WHAT NEXT carrying out this restriction is in reality through a wage freeze.

intervention, economics, Even the half-hearted “planning.’ of the ‘60's is out of reach.

Next issue of Socialist Republic will be in September-articles LEFT WING MILITARISM IN IRELAND U.SS.R.- capitalist or workers state The Womens Movement in the North. COLLAPSE OF NATIONAL WAGE AGREEMENT:

UNIONS MUST CHALLENGE GOVERNMENT A TRADE UNION PLAN forward their own Economic & Social Plan. This plan must be detailed and comprehensive, management can be removed, the LP. This call must be amplified and followed up at all levels. the working class 6s an important asset which must be used with vigour. from this month. We regret this increase in pricw but hope it will allow regular production of the paper each month.

statements unemployment For the past year unemployment has been hovering between the 15 to 20,000 mark. In addition to those who are officially registered there are tens of thousands of school leavers who are without jobs. Even if there is an economic upturn by the end of the year the Government still predicts that there will be no real improvement in the employment Even if we accept Government assurances, it is clear that the unemployment problem is along term one. But already severe hardship is being caused. The short duration of pay related benefits combined with the effects of inflation are making it increasingly Prompt action is needed. But the Government, dependent as it is on foreign speculative investment, is incapable of formulating clear and decisive policies of its own, The Coalition just stumbles along from one blunder to the next. There is no point in hoping that a deal to save or increase jobs can be worked out with a Government which is not even its own master, The Trade Union movement will simply be shirking its responsibility to its own members and to the unemployed if it does not formulate firm policies of its own and if it does not wage a fight to force the Government to accept these Even as things stand there is plenty of scope to expand production and increase employment. For example, there is a severe housing shortage yet the building and construction industry is one of the hardest hit industries; many of our agricultural products are exported in unprocessed form in order to make huge profits for the big farmers, whereas a national agricultural processing industry could provide many new jobs; the pupil/teacher ratio in our primary and secondary schools is one.of the worst in If the economy was really geared to the needs of the people, and not towards the needs of profit, The Trade Unions must use thelr skills and resources to formulate an Economic Plan which bases itself on social needs, in order to get the economy going again. Such a plan could include such items as a crash housing programme, a scheme of public works, development of our agricultural and natural resources. (t would also include a thorough investigation (carried out by workers at plant level where necessary) of the private enterprise system with a view to workers taking over contro! of those enterprises which are run inefficiently or which impede overall economic growth, (An example of how certain branches of the private sector become major obstacles to economic growth is the fact that over 16% of our yearly national income is used by the Government to pay back loans received from the banks. If the banks were nationalised this money, in addition to the other resources of the banks, ineptness of the present Government, it would also alert people to the hypocrisy of Fianna Fail, It would also put pressure on the Labour Party and all other socialist groups to come together and fight But the thousands of unemployed who are already suffering severe hardship cannot afford to wait for such a plan to be presented and fought for, The Unions must adopt an Action Programme for The European Trade Union Confederation (which represents 31 million workers in 19 countries, including Ireland) at a special conference on the 24th and 275th April last, has shown the way in this respect. By demanding the introduction of a 35 hour week with five weeks holidays for all workers, the ETUC has in effect demanded that all work be shared without loss of pay. The ETUC has also called for the banning of overtime; the lowering of the retirement age and an extension of the period of formal education. Irish trade unionists should see to it that the ICTU takes up these demands and In addition, trade unionists must demand the right to scrutinise company records so that they can veto the investment and production decisions of management, in order to safeguard their jobs, In each individual case rank and file trade unionists must demand backing from their unions to secure such rights as well as calling the ICTU to force the Government to introduce legislation which would The death of the British ambassador in Dublin last month has not surprisingly been seized on by politicjans,the press and churchmen to launch yet another offensive against the forc es involved in the struggle for national self-deter mination.

The sycophantic rantings of these people have been designed to obscure the fact that Ewart Biggs,far from being “a friend of th e Irish people" was a vete ran in the service of Impe rialism and the foremost representative of that cla ss which today forcibly oc cupies the 6 north eastern counties of this island.

Irish workers therefore have no reason to weeep over the death of this ma n who having at one time been attached to NATO was by no means squirmish abou t violence provided it wa s being dished out by the capitalist class of which he was a member.Ewart Big gs job in Ireland was not to play the role of the harbringer of peace but to further suffocate the legi timate aspirations of the Irish people for self-determination.

The Movement for a Soc jalist Republic(Irish Sect jon of the Fourth Interna tional) rejects absolutely the moral indignation of those who remain silent in the face of numerous atroc ities committed by British Imperialism and its native collaborators in allparts of Ireland. situation for at least.a year and a half to two years, difficult for the unemployed worker to make ends meet. policies, A NATIONAL PLAN there would be very little unemployment indeed. could be used to create jobs.

for genuine working class policies.

AN ACTION PROGRAMME immediate improvements, launches a well publicised and determined fight for them, give workers these rights in law.

AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT! FOR THE RIGHT TO WORK!

Europe, yet there is a 60% unemployment rate among those qualified to teach. And so on, The existence of such a plan in the hands of the Unions would not only expose the lies and NATIONAL COMMITTEE MSR. eihee ce | sineni 4 nae less than an elaborate ( cont. on p.3)

INTERNATIONAL NOTES

----- pull-quotes -----

COCUCCUOTUNTUUOUNOOADUOTOCEOTUEOECTECU CU COCU ECAC AE EE EEE TEA OCDE UPUU SEERA e who on the one hand issu ony ee esate he Move- e floods of statements con ht; chaghggeh em, 8 statevanivaitiaahich 44 pecific political reasons british ‘diplomat

its entirety,its laws,pol- ice and army is nothing

We reject abso-utely th eh Pi erases emning the violence of an shat ee Selb